Panel Will Propose New Legislation for Nursing Homes as COVID-19 Cases, Deaths in Facilities Continue to Rise

With the number of deaths from COVID-19 in Connecticut’s nursing homes surpassing 2,900 this month and the state stepping up mandates for testing, health officials and legislators are forming a panel to consider whether there should be new legal requirements for staffing levels, testing and how equipment is procured and distributed, among other issues.

By Jenna Carlesso / CTMIRROR.ORG | Translated by Jamal Fox & Alisson Ziza

With the number of deaths from COVID-19 in Connecticut’s nursing homes surpassing 2,900 this month and the state stepping up mandates for testing, health officials and legislators are forming a panel to consider whether there should be new legal requirements for staffing levels, testing and how equipment is procured and distributed, among other issues.

The state’s nursing homes are some of the hardest hit facilities, with 64% of Connecticut’s coronavirus fatalities occurring there. As of Oct. 20, the most recent data available, 9,109 nursing home residents had been infected. Thousands of staff members also contracted the virus, and more than a dozen have died…

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